some F35 info

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GrauGeist said:
A classic example is the time when a USN F4 Phantom of VF-14 launched with it's wings folded...
Click to expand...
You reminded me of this website.

My Wings Are What??

Any pilot, or ground crew, knows the importance making sure that each item on a checklist is properly attended to. Unfortunately as professional as a one wishes to be, we are all vulnerable to one basic and unavoidable truth…that no matter how experienced, and how attentive we are, mistakes can...
sierrahotel.net
 

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A military fighter jet on its way to an Air Force base in California crashed Tuesday near the international airport in New Mexico's largest city, sending up a large plume of smoke and injuring the pilot.

The pilot, the only person on board, was able to escape after crashing around 2 p.m. on a hillside on the south side of Albuquerque's airport and was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, according to the city's fire department.

U.S. manufacturer Lockheed Martin identified the downed plane as an F-35 that left Fort Worth, Texas, earlier Tuesday and was headed to Edwards Air Force Base near Los Angeles. A spokesperson for Lockheed said in an email to The Associated Press that the fighter jet crashed after the pilot stopped to refuel at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico.

Neither of the Air Force bases immediately responded to requests for more information.

Pilot injured after military aircraft crashes near Albuquerque airport

The pilot, the only person on board, was able to escape after crashing and was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, according to authorities.
www.airforcetimes.com
 
In that link, scroll down to "How slow can you go?" for an excellent account of SR-71 flying.
 
I understand crashes happen, but they're a lot more expensive nowadays. 1944, write off your Spitfire via CFIT and the gov't is out about £8000, equal to about £300k (USD $377k) today. Ninety year later, write off your F-35 and the gov't is out about USD $90 million, equal to £1.9 million in 1944, which is a lot when an Illustrious class aircraft carrier cost £3.8 million. And then there's the replacement capacity. Lockheed-Martin can only make them so fast, and I assume the books are full of new orders, not counting for replacements. At least the F-35 pilot survived, as he's the priciest of all.

I expect here in Canada we won't have our first operational squadron of F-35s until the early-2030s. That'll be over fifty years since the CF-18 entered service in 1982. And lord help us when we CFIT or otherwise destroy one. We won't get another for years.
 
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But accidents are also less likely these days
Admiral Beez said:
At least the F-35 pilot survived, as he's the priciest of all.
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She...I understand it was a female pilot
I understand the first RCAF F-35 is due in 2026. Not sure of exact IOC of first squadron though I believe it will be before the end of the decade as the CF-18s are due to cease operations in 2032.
 
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That F-35B is from VMFA-242... squadron name: "Bats"!

The special paint jobs are reserved for the CO's bird - so it would be "Bat Leader".

I did a 6-month deployment to Iwakuni Japan (6 weeks of which was at NAS Cubi Point, Philippines) from late April to late Oct 1984 with VMA(AW)-242 (as it was known then, operating A-6E Intruders). At that time our official name was "Black Bats".

Here is one of our birds with the despised "awkward landing" bat:




While in "Lackanookie" Japan and Ph we repainted our birds from the scheme above to "Lo-Vis Gray"... and we made a new bat for our logo (although it was no longer black):




The gray bat didn't last long... it was replaced with the logo seen here on one of our F/A-18Ds in the Sandpit (VMFA(AW)-242:




F-35B of VMFA-242 October 2021:




But someone seems to have a fondness for our old logo... VMFA-242 MCAS Iwakuni, Japan - September 2021:

 
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